Friedrich II
Duke of Anhalt
Frederick II (German: Leopold Friedrich II. Eduard Karl Alexander Herzog von Anhalt; 19 August 1856 – 21 April 1918) was the Duke of Anhalt from 1904 until 1918. He was born in Dessau in 1856, he was the second son of Hereditary Prince Frederick of Anhalt-Dessau and his wife Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. His father succeeded as Duke of Anhalt on 22 May 1871 and Frederick became heir apparent and Hereditary Prince following the death of his elder brother Leopold on 2 February 1886. Frederick was married on 2 July 1889 at Karlsruhe to Princess Marie of Baden (26 July 1865 – 29 November 1939). She was a daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Baden and his wife Princess Maria of Leuchtenberg, as well as an elder sister of Prince Maximilian of Baden, 8th Chancellor of Germany. The marriage produced no issue. On 24 January 1904, Frederick succeeded his father as Duke of Anhalt. During his reign he was known for his love of music and maintained a Court Theatre which became celebrated throughout Europe.
The Guard Jaeger Battalion (Garde-Jäger-Bataillon) was a New Prussian Jaeger battalion that stood in the tradition of the Old Prussian Corps of Jaegers on foot and was set up in 1744 by Frederick II in Prussia. In 1808 it became the Jäger Battalion No. 1, which was named Guard Jäger Battalion. It subsequently belonged to the Guard Corps of the Royal Prussian Army until 1918.
The House of Ascania (German: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as Schloss Askanien in German, which was located near and named after Aschersleben. The castle was the seat of the County of Ascania, a title that was later subsumed into the titles of the princes of Anhalt. The Duchy of Anhalt (German: Herzogtum Anhalt) was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. Anhalt's origins lie in the Principality of Anhalt, a state of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 9th century, most of Anhalt was part of the Duchy of Saxony. In the 12th century, it came under the rule of Albert the Bear, margrave of Brandenburg. Albert was descended from Albert, count of Ballenstedt, whose son Esico (died 1059 or 1060) appears to have been the first to bear the title of count of Anhalt. Esico's grandson, Otto the Rich, count of Ballenstedt, was the father of Albert the Bear, who united Anhalt with the Margraviate of Brandenburg (March of Brandenburg). When Albert died in 1170, his son
Bernard, who received the title of duke of Saxony in 1180, became count of Anhalt. Bernard died in 1212, and Anhalt, separated from Saxony, passed to his son Henry I, who in 1218 took the title of prince and was the real founder of the house of Anhalt.
Awards: Collar, sash and star of the House Order of Albert the Bear, Insignia of the Chivalric Order of Saint John of the Hospital at Jerusalem, Stars of the Order of the Red Eagle, the House Order of Hohenzollern and the House Order of the Wendish Crown.
